‘Cruel’ mum changes plea in dramatic u-turn
A mother who previously admitted forcing her teenage daughter to eat cockroaches has performed a sharp u-turn, pleading not-guilty to cruel treatment of children.
During her initial arraignment before Molepolole Magistrates Court last week, the 45-year-old mother-of-one, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s identity, originally confessed to making the girl, aged 13, munch on roaches as well as assaulting her with an electric cable.
However, appearing for facts reading on Monday, the suspect, who ironically works at the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education as a Procurement Officer, disputed the accusations, claiming she was pressured by the police into making a false confession.
“I don’t agree with the facts that I fed the child some cockroaches and assaulted her with an electric cable. I lashed her using a stick, and there were some marks on her body,” she argued.
The turn of events caught the Prosecutor, Thatayaone Marope cold, with the Sergeant admitting he had not brought the Investigating Officer (IO) along with him as he had not anticipated the change of plea.
Sticking to her guns, the mum demanded, “Ke khubama ka mangole, ke botsa gore a statement ke kwalelwa ke mapodise? I bow my knees, I ask if the police are supposed to write a statement for me?
“I can read and write. I was forced to sign a statement written by the police. I even asked what will happen if I refuse to sign and the police said they would detain me – this happened in the presence of the child’s father.”
The matter was postponed to Monday 16 February to allow the IO to take the stand, while the mum remains out on bail.
The accused, who turned up to court in a flowery orange dress, is reported to have beaten her biological daughter with an electric cable all over her body, causing multiple bruises, before forcing the teen to eat cockroaches – it has not yet been disclosed if the insects were dead or alive.
The girl’s ordeal came to light on 11 January, when her father went to check on her at her home in Gamodubu village where she lives with her mother.
Police investigations revealed that when the dad, 56, arrived, he found his daughter cleaning the sitting room. The mother was reportedly in a rage and allegedly uttered the words, “O santse o tsile go a ja mafele a ga o ise o a je, (you are still going to eat more cockroaches you haven’t eaten enough?)”
When the father went out of the house, it is said the accused repeatedly whipped their child with an electric wiring cable.
His concerns grew when the teenager later confided in him that she had indeed been made to eat the insect before.
The dad reported his worries to the police the following day and the girl was taken to the hospital. Molepolole Assistant Superintendent, Future Modisadife confirmed the suspect was arrested nine days later (21 January) but never detained in the holding cells.
After her first court appearance, the accused mum was remanded in custody for a day to give the police time to find a safe place to keep the child – she is now in the care of her maternal grandmother (the suspect’s mum).
On her return to court the next day, she was granted bail and allowed to go home.
If found guilty, court has the option to impose a fine anywhere between P30, 000 to P50, 000, hand down a possible seven to ten year prison sentence or even both.
